On Sun, 27 Apr 2003, Ri wrote:

> We were thinking that a new water temp and oil pressure were a must.

I like having a seperate, aftermarket water temp gauge.  That way I have a
cross check -- if one of the gauges does something funny, I can compare it
to the other to figure out if I have an engine problem or a gauge problem.
This will save you from having a heart attack the first time your stock
water temp gauges shorts out and pins on the hot side. ;)

Try to find an electric water temp gauge where the scale isn't too
compressed on the right side, though.  I made the mistake of buying a
cheap one and there's only about 3/8" of needle travel between 210 and 280
degrees, which makes the calibration marks almost totally useless on my
diesel -- the thermostat doesn't even *start* to open until 190 degrees F
on that engine.  I saw a nice VDO water temp gauge once that I think had
come out of an old VW Rabbit that would have worked better.  Also, I
recommend running a seperate ground wire for aftermarket water temp
gauges.  I didn't and my gauge indication is affected by other electrical
loads.

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Diesel Westfalia
'94 Honda Civic Si